Funding opportunities

Photo: AU Photo

The Danish funding landscape is characterised by a few large public foundations, a handful of major private foundations with a broad funding strategy, and a myriad of small private foundations with more specific funding strategies.

Early Career Researchers – talent grants and fellowships

Carlsberg Foundation – Postdoctoral Fellowships in Denmark. These fellowships are awarded to outstanding PhDs to establish independent research activities in Denmark. Please note that the fellowships are not awarded to PhDs without any previous strong connections to Denmark or Danish research.

Independent Research Fund Denmark – Sapere Aude. A DFF Starting Grant provides excellent younger researchers with the opportunity to develop and strengthen their research ideas. It also aims to promote both national and international mobility between research environments and thereby to strengthen networks and careers. Starting Grants target top researchers who intend to bring together a team of researchers and/or research students to conduct a research project at a high, international level.

Villum Foundation - Young Investigators. The purpose of the VILLUM Young Investigator Programme is to fund especially talented up-and-coming researchers in science and technology with ambitions of creating their own, independent research identity. The grant amount is DKK 7-10 million, it can be awarded once only, and the timeframe is five years.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Hallas-Møller Emerging Investigator.The purpose of the Hallas-Møller Emerging Investigator grant is to support and strengthen the development of the young and promising research leader in Denmark within the field of bioscience and basic biomedicine. Applicants must have a PhD plus approximately 4-8 years of subsequent research experience. Applicants cannot have more than 3 years of group leader experience at the time of application. The grant is up to DKK 10 million.

Lundbeck Foundation – Postdoctoral fellowships. The Lundbeck Foundation awards postdoctoral fellowships for free and independent biomedical and health science research of the highest standard at Danish research institutions. The foundation uses the term ‘biomedical and health science’ in its broadest sense, since it supports many adjacent fields of research that traditionally belong to other classical faculties (particularly to natural science and technical science) but that, to an increasing extent, help to steer the field of biomedicine towards new breakthroughs in knowledge and treatment.

Lundbeck Foundation - Lundbeck Fellows.The Lundbeck Fellowships are granted to outstanding and promising young researchers who are establishing or expanding their own research groups at Danish research institutions. The fellowships are intended for researchers who have received their PhD degree within the last four to eight years. The application should concern biomedicine or science with a clear biomedical perspective. Fellowships are awarded for five years and each fellowship amounts to DKK 10 million.

Funding options for the experienced researcher

Carlsberg Foundation - Distinguished Associate Professor Fellowship. A 1-3 year fellowship for outstanding newly appointed associate professors or tenure-track assistant professors with international experience to establish an independent research group or environment. At the time of application, the applicant cannot be more than two years into his/her tenured position; assistant professors on tenure track are also eligible.

Villum Foundation - Villum Investigator. This programme is for researchers within the technical and natural sciences who have demonstrated considerable originality and outstanding research results. Calls for competitive applications are made every other year. The grant is for six years, after which time grant holders are permitted to reapply in competition with other applicants. The grant total is DKK 20-40 million.

Danish National Research Foundation – Centers of Excellence. A Center of Excellence (CoE) grant is large and flexible (existing grants range from DKK 36 to 65 million) and enables researchers to establish research centers that can exist for up to 10 years. Only top researchers with the most ambitious ideas will be awarded a CoE grant through a fiercely competitive two-stage application process. The objective of the CoE programme is to strengthen Danish research by providing the best possible working conditions and organisational set-up for selected top researchers. Centers may be established within or across all fields of research.

Independent Research Fund Denmark - Research Project 1. This grant of up to DKK 2 million (excluding overheads) is for research projects across all fields of research. A DFF-Research Project 1 requires a clear and well-defined research question and research activities are expected to be of a high, international standard. The DFF-Research Project 1 is typically funded for 3 years, but it is possible to apply for a 4-year project, if a PhD student is involved in the project.

Independent Research Fund Denmark - Research Project 2. This grant of between DKK 2 and 4.3 million (excluding overheads) is for research projects across all fields of research conducted by multiple researchers (including post-doctoral scholars and PhD students). The grant duration is up to 4.5 years. A DFF–Research Project 2 typically requires a coordinated and mutually binding collaboration featuring a well-defined, joint research question. However, the research question may also be set by a single researcher and carried out in a research team provided the research objective cannot be obtained through a DFF–Research Project 1.

Villum Foundation - Villum Experiment. This programme was created for exceptional research projects within the technical and natural sciences that challenge the norm and potentially change the way we approach important topics. It therefore targets researchers with a bold idea that could otherwise be excluded by traditional peer-review funding schemes. The grant of between DKK 1-2 million is awarded for a research period of 1-2 years and covers all project-related expenses, such as salary, equipment, and travel costs.

Innovation Fund Denmark – Grand Solutions. Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD) invests in the best research and innovation projects with the potential to create knowledge, growth and employment in Denmark. IFD focuses on results and solutions that create value for society. With Grand Solutions, IFD wishes to facilitate cross-investments in knowledge institutions and companies – private as well as public. The investments should address tangible challenges and innovation needs of both companies and society.

Velux Foundation – The core-group programme. Every second year, the core-group programme funds research in the humanities and related social science disciplines. A core group is a closely collaborating research team that typically consists of 1–2 tenured senior investigators as project managers and 2-3 postdoctoral scholars and/or PhD students. A core group may consist of researchers from the same department or researchers across departments and universities.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Young Investigator Awards. This award is given to outstanding younger scientists to come to Denmark and expand their ground-breaking research programmes. It provides funding to enable independent early- to mid-career researchers conduct larger and more ambitious studies. The award supports exceptional scientists working within any area of biomedical and/or biotechnological sciences. The applicant must be a principal investigator with an independent research group that he/she has directed forfewer than 7 years in total. It awards up to DKK 25 million for a period of 7 years.

Novo Nordisk Hallas-Møller Ascending Investigator. The purpose of the grant is to support and strengthen the consolidation of the excellent, younger to middle-aged associate professors in Denmark within the fields of bioscience and basic biomedicine. The applicant should have a PhD plus approximately 7-15 years of subsequent research experience. Up to DKK 10 million can be awarded.p to DKK 10 million can be awarded.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Distinguished Investigator Awards. This grant is for outstanding professors within the fields of bioscience and basic biomedicine who, for several years, have continually demonstrated the ability to execute and lead research at the highest international level. Up to DKK 10 million can be awarded.

NNF Laureate Research Grants. The purpose of this grant is to support outstanding established scientists to come to Denmark to strengthen their ground-breaking research programmes. This grant provides funding for research leaders to conduct large and long-term projects with transformative potential. The NNF seeks to support exceptional scientists working within any area of biomedical and/or biotechnological sciences. Grants of up to DKK 50 million are awarded for a period of 7 years. After 5 years of research supported by the NNF Laureate Research Grant, the grant holder may apply for one extension period of up to 7 years. Extension period funding may be up to DKK 5 million per year, with a limit of DKK 35 million in total.

Novo Nordisk Challenge programme.With the Challenge Programme, the Novo Nordisk Foundation wishes to contribute to the development and strengthening of the Danish research environment within biomedicine and biotechnology. The Challenge Programme focuses on in-depth research on specific challenges within annually selected research themes. Grants of up to DKK 10 million per year can be awarded for 6 years (total budget of up to DKK 60 million).

Novo Nordisk project grants. The Novo Nordisk Foundation awards project grants within endocrinology and metabolism, nursing, biotechnology-based synthesis and production, bioscience, and basic and clinical medical research. The grants of between DKK 300,000 and DKK 1,000,000 per budget year are awarded for 1-, 2- and 3-year projects.